Chapter 42: Even Ghosts Have Feelings

Without warning, Shui Miao suddenly spotted a dark, misty figure resembling a human, which startled him greatly.

However, what frightened Shui Miao the most wasn’t merely the dark mist, but the shocking truth behind it all. Shui Miao had always believed that the nightmare he experienced that night at Wang Yong’s house was nothing more than a dream. He never imagined it was actually real—that Shen Hui was, in fact, Shen Li’e. This revelation was absolutely horrifying! Immediately, Shui Miao began to wonder what Shen Hui’s true intentions really were.

Shui Miao’s sudden behavior left both the old man and Lin Haiyang momentarily stunned.

Lin Haiyang glanced toward the doorway, but there was nothing there…

The old man looked at Shui Miao in confusion. “Kid, what’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing, nothing at all. I just have a bit of a stomachache.”

Shui Miao tried hard to calm himself. He felt a dull pain in his lower abdomen, likely caused by the sudden fright that had disturbed his qi. For someone practicing martial arts and qigong, maintaining balanced breathing was crucial.

Luckily, Shui Miao’s practice mainly involved circulating spiritual energy. He pressed his hand against his stomach and regulated his breathing for a while, after which the pain gradually faded away.

Looking up, Shui Miao noticed that the dark mist at the doorway had already vanished.

There was no sign of it anywhere inside the house.

At that moment, a rustling sound came from the side room, and slowly, an elderly woman in her sixties, her hair completely white, emerged from the room. As Shui Miao looked at her, he immediately noticed that she was surrounded by black mist—obviously possessed by an evil spirit!

Standing at the doorway, the old woman stared at Shui Miao with a sinister gaze. Without saying a word, she simply gestured for him to come closer.

Shui Miao took a deep breath and, gathering his courage, stepped forward.

In a low voice, the old woman whispered, “I helped you win that money. Return the four thousand yuan to my parents, and I won’t bother you anymore. If you don’t, I’ll kill you.” Her voice was barely audible. After speaking, she turned around and walked back into the room.

Shui Miao now realized that there was another bed inside this room. This couple were both ill!

Was it really her who helped me win?

How could that be? Wasn’t it the purple energy that brought me luck? Shui Miao was deeply shocked and confused.

“Shui Miao, what’s wrong with you?”

Lin Haiyang, standing nearby, was completely puzzled—he hadn’t heard the old woman’s words clearly.

“Nothing…”

Interrupted by Lin Haiyang’s question, Shui Miao quickly walked outside, got into the car, took out his backpack, and pulled out 40,000 yuan, handing it to the old man. “Grandpa, this money is from your daughter. She’s working away and couldn’t come back, so she asked me to deliver it. I still have something to do, so I’ll leave now.”

After handing over the money and speaking those words, Shui Miao grabbed Lin Haiyang’s hand and immediately left.

Once inside the car, Shui Miao immediately said, “Drive.”

While driving, Lin Haiyang asked in confusion, “Brother Shui, what exactly is going on? Weren’t we supposed to collect money, but now we’re giving it away?”

“Don’t talk. Just drive.”

Shui Miao’s expression was tense. As he glanced at the rearview mirror, he noticed the back seat was pitch black. Focusing his gaze, he realized it was the same human-shaped dark mist from before!

“Is it Shen Hui!?”

Shui Miao’s heart pounded. He clenched his fist tightly, silently thinking: “Damn you, evil spirit! Don’t push me too far. I’ve never had any grudge with you, yet I helped you greatly and even gave your parents 40,000 yuan. If you still dare to harass me like this, even if I die, I’ll become a vengeful ghost and destroy your soul completely. I am Shui Miao, and I won’t back down!”

His anger surged, and his eyes burned with killing intent.

Most people would be terrified in such a situation, but Shui Miao feared nothing—not even heaven or earth. At worst, it was just death, and he would still seek revenge. The way Shen Hui was treating him made Shui Miao angrier and angrier. He gritted his teeth in fury, then suddenly turned to look at the back seat—only to find that the dark mist was slowly dispersing and gradually vanishing…

What was going on?

A thought suddenly struck Shui Miao. He recalled what the elders in the village had once said—that once a vengeful ghost fulfills its final wish, its resentment would dissipate, and it would become a normal soul, ready to be reborn in the underworld.

If that were true, had she come here to thank him and accompany him for a while?

As Shui Miao pondered, he became convinced of his theory.

That must be it. He had no conflict with Shen Hui, and he had helped her so much. She wouldn’t possibly betray him.

Only after the dark mist completely vanished did Shui Miao turn his head back.

Shui Miao’s strange behavior made Lin Haiyang imagine something terrifying.

Driving nervously, Lin kept glancing around.

Seeing Lin’s tense expression, Shui Miao relaxed a little and said, “It’s okay now. Everything has returned to normal.”

“Y-you’re sure?”

Since the previous night’s scare, Lin Haiyang had become timid, even afraid to walk alone at night.

“Yeah.”

Seeing Lin’s nervousness, Shui Miao smiled slightly. “Want me to tell you what I saw?”

“No, no, don’t. The more you say, the more scared I get.” Lin waved his hands frantically.

“How could that be?” Shui Miao gently shook his head. “Lin Brother, do you know why real Taoist priests who have true abilities aren’t afraid of evil spirits?”

“Because they have true abilities,” Lin Haiyang replied directly.

Shui Miao shook his head again. “That’s only part of it. The real reason is that they understand the principles of yin and yang, know the weaknesses of evil spirits, and realize that they, like humans, have emotions and thoughts. They know how to be grateful. If you help them, they’ll be grateful. If you oppose them, they’ll oppose you. Other than their physical form, they’re no different from us. There’s a saying: ‘If you have a clear conscience, you won’t fear ghosts knocking at your door at night.’ If you’ve done nothing wrong, why scare yourself?”

Shui Miao explained this to help Lin Haiyang understand evil spirits rationally and eliminate his irrational fear.

Surprisingly, Shui Miao’s words did ease Lin Haiyang’s anxiety. “Okay, tell me what happened just now. I’m not that scared anymore.”

Seeing Lin’s reaction, Shui Miao was pleased.

He briefly recounted to Lin the story of how he and his grandfather had helped the Sun family with their feng shui. Lin was amazed. If he hadn’t seen Shui Miao’s strange behavior with his own eyes today, he would have thought Shui was just telling a story.

That’s how people are—unless they witness something themselves, they won’t easily believe it.

But people often overlook one thing: if something is widely known around the world, could it really be as simple as superstition?

Shui Miao had opened his spiritual eyes and seen spirits. Though he was also afraid, he faced them with the right mindset, so he didn’t retreat in fear. Instead, he became more understanding and more courageous.

The car drove steadily down the road…

After a moment of silence, Shui Miao suddenly spoke again. “Lin Brother, when are you heading to Zhonghai?”

“How about tomorrow at noon?” Lin Haiyang looked at Shui Miao.

“I’m not entirely sure yet. I don’t know how well Chen Xiang is prepared. If we can’t make it tomorrow noon, you can go ahead first, and I’ll take a bus later.” For some reason, Shui Miao suddenly had a strange feeling that taking Chen Xiang with him might not be so easy.

Hearing this, Lin Haiyang laughed. “I thought it was something big. It’s just your little sister Chen Xiang, right? Anyway, her father doesn’t know me. I can pretend to be a foreman and fool him easily.”

“Haha, that’s not a bad idea! I didn’t know you had such a clever mind under that curly hair!” Shui Miao laughed, about to continue speaking, when he suddenly saw through the car window someone on the opposite side of the irrigation canal road. It was Chen Jianguo, angrily pushing a girl forward while she cried. Looking closely, the girl was none other than Chen Xiang!

“Quick! Turn the car around!”

Seeing Chen Jianguo bullying Chen Xiang, Shui Miao’s fists clenched tightly.